A few days after the plans for the Liberator were put online, the State Department ordered Wilson to remove them, threatening him with jail and fines for breaking rules on the export of military data.

State informed him that by posting his files online he may have violated a complicated set of federal regs, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which seek to prevent the export of sensitive military technology. The regulations are pretty heavy stuff, aimed at stopping the export of classified military hardware, weapons of mass destruction, that sort of thing.

Since then, Wilson has been in a two year battle with the State Department that has resulted in him filing suit against the government arguing that his Constitutional rights were being violated by disallowing the plastic gun on the internet.

While he lost his initial case in August, Wilson has since filed an appeal and vows to fight on to protect what he sees as a violation of his First and Second Amendments by the State Department.

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